Air Pollution Worst Recorded !
Note - This is based on a press release issued Jan 04, so it does not comment on the lastest situation.
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Air pollution |
The government would have us believe that air pollution is a minor issue and is getting better. See Press Release below for the real situation. The release was for the borough of Ealing, but is equally applicable for all of west London.
Press Release
2003 was a shocking year for air pollution, says Ealing Friends of the Earth. Levels of air pollution in Ealing and Acton in 2003 were the worst since measurements began. Not only that, but Government health safety levels were dramatically exceeded for all three main pollutants - small atmospheric particles [known as PM10], nitrogen dioxide and ozone.
Pollution levels for PM10 particles and ozone were both much higher than the highest previously recorded [Notes 1 and 2]. The number of days when PM10 pollution was higher than the Government health threshold was 61, nearly twice the maximum of 35 allowed [Note 1]. The situation for ozone was even worse, with 33 days over the health threshold, over three times the 10 days allowed [Note 2]. Levels of nitrogen dioxide were worse than previous years, and continue to break health thresholds, as they have in all years except 2002 [Note 3].
Christine Eborall, Ealing Friends of the Earth Air Pollution and Health spokesperson, said "Such high pollution levels are very serious for the residents of this borough. The small particles are especially bad. All sorts of harmful chemicals stick to them, and once breathed in they are too small for the lungs to expel, so they just accumulate, making people more and more unhealthy."
She continued: "It's no good blaming the weather. Traffic is the cause of most air pollution in London. Ealing Council is supposed to be ensuring that our air is fit to breathe. The Government's 1997 National Air Quality Strategy requires local authorities to ensure that the PM10 targets are met by the end of this year, and the nitrogen dioxide ones by the end of 2005. Ealing Council will not achieve these targets, because it still has not put in place any policies to control traffic in the most polluted areas. So our air will not be fit to breathe, and people's health will continue to suffer."
ENDS
For further information: Christine Eborall: telephone 020-8991-0006
Notes for editors
1. 2003 data for PM10 particulates [particles less than 10 microns in diameter], measured at Acton Town Hall ["roadside site"]: annual mean = 34 microgrammes per cubic metre, the highest recorded since measurements began in 1998. The number of days when average daily mean of 50 microgrammes per cubic metre was exceeded = 61. Government National Air Quality Strategy Objective is for a maximum of 35 such days.
2. 2003 data for ozone measured at Ealing Town Hall ["background site"]: number of days when the maximum rolling 8 hour mean exceeded 50 parts per billion = 33, the highest recorded since measurements began. Government National Air Quality Strategy Objective is for a maximum of 10 such days.
3. 2003 data for nitrogen dioxide measured at Acton Town Hall ["roadside site"]: annual mean = 32 parts per billion, the highest recorded since 1997. Measured at Ealing Town Hall ["background site"]: annual mean = 22 parts per billion, the highest since 2000. All measures since 1995 have been above the Government National Air Quality Strategy Objective, which is an annual mean of less than 21 parts per billion, except for 2002 at Ealing Town Hall [19 ppb].
4. PM10 particulates are produced by traffic, especially diesel engines, and by industrial processes. They are inhaled deep into the lungs, causing inflammation, worsening existing hearth and lung conditions. They are strongly associated with coughs, colds, sinusitis, shortness of breath, wheezing, chest pain, asthma, bronchitis, emphysema and loss of lung efficiency. Long term exposure is associated with increased risk of death from coronary heart disease and lung cancer. They may also increase the risk of cancer by containing toxic substances, currently under investigation by the Department of Health.
5. In London traffic contributes more to air pollution than in any other UK city and the Mayor's Air Quality Strategy for London seeks to reduce road traffic. Road transport is responsible for 68% of PM10 emissions within Greater London. [Source: GLA/TfL London Atmospheric Emissions Inventory, February 2002]
6. The British Government's Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants [COMEAP] estimated in its report "Quantification of the Effects of Air Pollution on Health in the UK", January 1998, that small particulates of 10 microns or less [PM10] contribute to bringing forward around 8,100 deaths and to around 10,500 hospital admissions for respiratory disease in the urban population of Great Britain annually.
7. More people are killed by particulates than by road accidents. A World Health Organisation [WHO] study in France, Austria and Switzerland published in 1999 found that every year these small PM10 particles kill twice as many people as are killed in road traffic accidents. They also cause 300,000 extra cases of bronchitis in children, 15,000 hospital admissions for heart diseases, 395,000 asthma attacks in adults and 162,000 asthma attacks in children each year in these three countries.
8. Ozone at ground level is formed from chemical reactions between pollutants from traffic in sunlight, typically during the afternoons as pollution levels build up. It irritates the eyes and nose, and worsens asthma and lung disorders.
9. In December 2000 London Borough of Ealing was declared an Air Quality Management Area after it was shown that parts of the Borough are predicted not to meet the air quality targets specified in the UK Government's National Air Quality Strategy [NAQS]. These targets, which are referred to as Objectives, cover seven health- damaging air pollutants and are set at levels designed to protect human health.
10. The two pollutants whose Objectives are predicted to be exceeded are those for PM10 and nitrogen dioxide. The Strategy states that these should be met by December 2004 and December 2005 respectively.
11. It is important to note that the current PM10 Objective is less stringent than the original health-based one because the latter was considered impossible to achieve even by 2005, and that even the current Objective is considered unachievable by 2005 in London.
12. As a consequence of the Borough being declared an Air Quality Management Area, Ealing Borough Council was required to produce an Air Quality Action Plan which sets out what it intends to do to meet the NAQS Objectives. It was required to set out how it will use its powers in pursuit of the NAQS Objectives, and to produce a proportionate and effective plan. Ealing Council's Air Quality Action Plan was approved by the Council's Cabinet on 8 April 2003 and is now Council policy. The Action Plan contains no specific policies to target the most polluted "hotspot" areas. A request by Ealing Friends of the Earth to call in the Action Plan for re-examination on this and other grounds was refused by Ealing Council Borough Scrutiny Committee on 5 June 2003.
13. Air pollution analyses for Ealing and the entire London Air Quality Network are produced by the Environment Research Group at King's College London [see www.erg.kcl.ac.uk/London]. Figures for 2003 are provisional and subject to final validation.
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Issued Jan 04